Horned Frog Cheat Sheet

Kendall Louis

Can you feel it? We’re just three days away from the 2016 TCU Football season. The Horned Frogs take on South Dakota State Saturday at 7 p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium, and things really heat up the following week when the Frogs host Arkansas in a Big 12 vs SEC matchup. To get you ready for the weekend, we compiled some Horned Frog stats, thanks to the TCU media department.

From the weird…
On Dec. 5, 2010, TCU became the only team in college football history to receive an invitation to the Rose Bowl and implode its stadium on the same day.

To the wardrobe specific…
On the official Pantone Color Chart, TCU purple is PMS 5265.

Here’s your cheat sheet for the beginning of the 2016 season. Read on and Go Frogs.

TCU is ranked No. 13 in the AP preseason rankings. This year’s No.13 spot marks the third-highest preseason ranking under Gary Patterson, behind only 2015 (No. 2) and 2010 (No. 6). The Horned Frogs went a combined 24-2 in those two seasons.

TCU is picked to finish second in the Big 12.

The Horned Frogs return 13 starters (seven defensive, six offensive) from last season. That total doesn’t include six starters (four defensive, two offensive) who were sidelined for the year due to injury.

The Horned Frogs have the Big 12’s best overall record (23-3) and conference record (15-3) over the last two seasons.

The Horned Frogs have a 13-game home winning streak, trailing only Florida State (21) and Clemson (16) for the longest among Power 5 programs. TCU’s 13 straight home wins more than double the next-closest Big12 member (Oklahoma, 6).

Since 2005, TCU has the best record in Texas among the 12 FBS programs with a record of 111-30. Texas is No. 2 with a record of 99-43.

In TCU’s Valero Alamo Bowl win over Oregon, 21 freshmen and 6 sophomores combined for 27 of its 30 receptions.

Gary Patterson named Texas A&M transfer Kenny Hill (511 yards passing in his first collegiate start) the starting quarterback earlier this month. Hill’s father, Ken Hill, was a 1994 National League Cy Young Award runner-up for the Montreal Expos.

Deante Gray is the fastest Horned Frog on the 2016 team with a 4.36 40.

KaVontae Turpin averaged 15.3 yards per touch as a true freshman last season.

After being sidelined last season by injury, Deanté Gray returns as a graduate student this fall. Gray ranked second on TCU in 2014 in touchdown catches (8), third in receiving yards (582) and fourth in receptions (36).

Four TCU defensive starters last season were either sidelined the entire year or limited to just a few games due to injury. But, they’re back. Defensive end James McFarland, TCU’s 2014 sack leader (7) and Chick- l-A Peach Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player, did not see action after a preseason injury. Linebacker Sammy Douglas played just one series in the opener at Minnesota before a season-ending injury. Safety Kenny Iloka and cornerback Ranthony Texada played just two and three games, respectively, before their seasons were cut short by injury.